While Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield have been mixed, its operations in Crimea and the Black Sea have been rather more successful.
Vladimir Putin is trying to repair the damage done by his decision to pull out of the grain deal which had supplied many African countries.
EPA-EFE/Sergei Bobylev/Tass
Vladimir Putin is engaged in a bid to woo support among African leaders, but the summit masks the darker reality of Russian influence-seeking in Africa
The grain deal allowed Ukrainian corn and other products to reach ports in Lebanon and elsewhere.
AP Photo/Hassan Ammar
Russia’s move, which it followed by bombing the key port city of Odesa and threatening to attack any ship sailing for Ukraine, sent global food prices skyrocketing.
Common ground: back-channel negotiations have succeeded in brokering deals including over grain exports.
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